LCS 2: Unusual ship, an unusual christening - Navy News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

LCS 2: Unusual ship, an unusual christening

The Navy has high hopes for its second littoral combat ship, the aluminum trimaran Independence. But for all the warship’s promised capabilities handling submarines, mines or surface threats, the ship may have to overcome another tricky foe — luck.

When the ship was formally given its name on Oct. 4, its sponsor didn’t break the bottle of christening champagne over the Independence’s bow. Instead, Doreen Scott, wife of former Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Terry Scott, cracked the bottle against an upright “striking bar” welded onto the ship’s forecastle between its superstructure and its 57mm gun. The evening after the commissioning ceremony, the bar was removed.

Michelle Bowden, a spokeswoman for shipbuilder Austal USA, said Independence’s needle-narrow bow sat too far away from the dock — about 60 feet — for the official party to stand close enough to break the bottle. The Navy has never had a warship with LCS 2’s distinctive three-hull configuration.

Yes, the champagne bottle broke, which, according to ancient maritime lore, should bring the Independence good luck. Then again, does that count only if the bottle breaks over the bow?

“This particular ceremony would be the equivalent of the minister or priest dunking the baby’s tummy in the christening font, or sprinkling the water there instead of on its head,” said naval expert A.D. Baker III, a former analyst in the Office of Naval Intelligence and editor of “Combat Fleets of the World.”

Baker, who helped oversee ship christenings when he worked for Navy Secretary John Lehman, said he never saw a champagne bottle broken on a ship in a position comparable to the one on Independence.

The first littoral combat ship, the Lockheed Martin-built Freedom, was christened with a traditional champagne smash over its bow; the bottle was wielded by Birgit Smith, widow of Army Sgt. 1st Class Paul Smith, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor after he was killed in 2003 defending his squad in Iraq.

It’s unclear whether the location of the champagne impact affects a ship’s luck, or if the bottle really needs to break. History would appear to be on the side of Independence, according to the Naval Historical Center, because of a long tradition of christenings that didn’t involve champagne or the ship’s bow.

For example, in 1843, the screw sloop Princeton was christened with a bottle of whiskey. And in Tudor England’s version of the ritual, a lieutenant of the king would stand aboard a new ship holding a golden cup, then spill some wine on the deck. He would toast the king and toss the cup overboard, which often prompted sailors or shipwrights to dive into the water, trying to recover the jewel-encrusted goblet.